FORBESAFRICA.COM APRIL 2020 FORBES AFRICA| 41
SASHAVYBZ,28,UGANDA
FOUNDER,SAVYFILMZ,ANDVIDEO DIRECTOR
INDUSTRY:ENTERTAINMENTHailingfromhumblebeginningsintheKabaledistrictof
Uganda,IanAkankwasa,popularlyknownas‘SashaVybz’,
wasattractedtomotionpicturesfroma veryyoungage.
“WhenI wasa youngkid,I usedtolovefilmsomuch.I
wasalwaysintrigued.I wantedtofindouthowtheymake
thesemovies.I wantedtomakemoviesandI wantedto
tellstories.GiventhefactthatI wasa veryquietperson
I thoughtI couldexpressmyselfthroughfilmmaking.I
neverimaginedmyselftogetthisfar,”hesays.
Hetaughthimselfusingonlineresources,andhacks
andtricksfromhisformerdaysasaneventsphotographer
butwasunabletodevelopthequalityfilmsandvideoshe
yearnedfor,ortoaddressthelackofhigh-qualityvideos
inUganda’sentertainmentscene.
SoheenrolledattheCityVarsitySchoolofMedia
StudiesandCreativeArtsCollegeinCapeTown,South
Africa,topursuehisunfulfilleddreams.
Immediatelyafterhisstudies,hebrokeintothemusic
sceneinEastAfricaandbecameoneofthemostsought-
aftermusicdirectorsforartistsinNigeria,SouthAfrica
andBurundi.
HebeganturningUganda’smusicintogoldwithhigh-
definitionquality.
HehasworkedwithtopmusicianssuchasPatoranking,
BebeCoolandToniks.
Histalenthasseenhimbaggingawardsincluding
BestVideoDirectoratthe 2019 AfricanMuzikAwardsin
Dallas,Texas.
HisotherawardsincludeClubMusicVideoAward
2017,HiPipoVideoDirector2018/19,BuzzVideoofthe
Year2016/17andtheRisingStarVideoDirector2018/19.
SavyFilmzspecializesinmotionpictures,music
videos,moviesanddocumentaries.
CNNhashailedhimas a filmmaker “making music
videos as an art form”.I thoughtI couldexpressmyself
throughfilmmaking.I never
imagined myself to get this far.LEWISAPPIAGYEI, 16, GHANA
CARRACER
INDUSTRY:SPORTSAttheageof10,LewisAppiagyeialreadyhadhis
firstGuinnessWorldRecordforthefastestlap
drivenontheLagunaSecaCircuitin virtual racing
onPlayStation3.
Thisrecordisstillunbeaten.
Whilemanyboyshisagewereplayingwithtoy
cars,heracedtofamefollowinginthetyretreadof
LewisHamilton,oneofhisheroes.
“MyaimistobecomeAfrica’sfirstFormulaOne
worldchampion,a prizewhichisstillupforgrabs
toallAfricanracingdriverswherevertheymaybe,”
hetellsFORBESAFRICA.
Recently,hemadeit ontothe 30 Under 30
FutureofGhana’slistin 2018 andisthecurrentgo-
kartingchampion.
Hispassionforracinghastakenhimtorace
tracksinEuropeandDubai.
Earlythisyear,hewonhislastjuniortrophyat
theBuckmoreParkKartCircuitinKentEngland,
thesamecircuitwheremanycurrentFormulaOne
driverslearnedtheirtradeincludingJensonButton
andHamilton.
ForAppiagyei,thismarkedtheendoftheera,
andthestartofa newone.
Thereisnotellingwhatthebigleagueshold
forthisyoungtalentbuthepredictsthathewill
becomea FormulaOnechampion just like his
namesake role model.